was a bit of humor as well as tragedy in the situation. He cheerfully
conceded to himself that for a long time Deane had proved himself a
better man than either Bucky or himself, and that, after all, he was
the man who held the situation well in hand even now. He was well
armed. He was as cautions as a fox, and would not be caught napping.
And yet this thought filled Billy with satisfaction rather than fear.
Deane would be more than a match for Bucky alone if he failed in
beating out the corporal. But if he did beat him out--

Billy's lips set grimly, and there was a hard light in his eyes as he
glanced back over his shoulder. He would not only beat him out, but he
would capture Scottie Deane. It would be a game of fox against fox,
and he would win. No one would ever know why he was playing the game
as he had planned to play it. Bucky would never know. Down at
headquarters they would never know. And yet deep down in his heart he
hoped and believed that Isobel would guess and understand. To save
Deane, to save Isobel, he must keep them out of the hands of Bucky
Smith, and to do that he must make them his own prisoners. It would be
a terrible ordeal at first. A picture of Isobel rose before him, her
faith and trust in him broken, her face white and drawn with grief and
despair, her blue eyes flashing at him-- hatred. But he felt now that
he could stand those things. One moment-- the fatal moment, when she
would understand and know that he had remained true-- would repay him
for what he might suffer.

He traveled swiftly for an hour, and paused then to get his wind where
the partly covered trail dipped down into a frozen swamp. Here Isobel
had climbed from the sledge and had followed in the path of the
toboggan. In places where the spruce and balsam were thick overhead
Billy could make out the imprints of her moccasins. Deane had led the